Are you tense and need a break? You will love this book! Open it to any page on any day. You'll find guidance and useful tips that are positive, fun, light-hearted and profound so you can get the peace of mind you really need - right now. Whenever you feel bothered and annoyed, fearful, insecure, angry or frustrated, it is probably from one of these:

Don't worry, we have you covered. Designed for easy reading and fast relief, Past Tense gives you 365 engaging "page-a-day" stories to put your stress to rest. Each one brings you a healthy does of feeling better every day of the year. Sprinkled with inspiring quotes, thoughtful sayings and profound wisdom from the world's great philosophers, modern thinkers, and major religions, Past Tense give soothing, down-to-earth advice for people of all ages. Use it to get "past tense" right away - and stay that way for life!

Work Stress. Management Stress. Money Stress. Life Stress!They’re All Part of Everyday Life, BUT…

There are practical solutions and secrets that you can start using right away:

Fundamental understanding and management of stress is within your grasp.

With its 365 engaging, “page-a-day” stories, Past Tense offers a healthy dose of stress relief for every day of the year. The book covers every stress-generating scenario imaginable while teaching: the full impact of stress on your life; how to react to any crisis with composure; ways to read the warning signs of stress burnout; and tips on becoming a master of new behavioral patterns that help you live a highly stress-reduced life.

Sprinkled with quotes, sayings, and profound wisdom from ancient philosophers, modern thinkers, and the world’s major religions, Past Tense offers down-to-earth, common sense advice that speaks powerfully to readers of all ages and cultures. Use this lively stress-handling encyclopedia to get “past tense” and stay that way – for life!

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Shawn V. Kilgarlin is a writer, speaker, and CEO of Louisiana-based Shop Catholic Books & Gifts store. In 2011, she was named a Cambridge Who’s Who Professional of the Year in Health Care Support. Ms. Kilgarlin’s husband (and co-author), Ron Kilgarlin is ASC’s CEO and an internationally recognized sales expert. Their company has helped over a million people deal with the plague of substance abuse. While unusually active in her industry and community, Ms. Kilgarlin’s true passions are writing and helping those in need. She is the author of the book God’s Love Letters: Overcoming Adversity. Past Tense is her second book.

ISBN: 978-0-9600790-3-2
Price: $25.95 (Paperback)
ePDF: 978-0-9860079-0-3
Price: $19.99
Publisher: American Screening Corp
Order Information: Call 1-318-798-3306 Ask For Carmen, Ron, Shawn, Candace or Shelby!
Synopsis: In this reader- and consumer-friendly, stress-beating, daily dose of relief book, Shawn Kilgarlin (with help from her husband Ron ) provides solutions to any triggered stress response that may darken your mind, from environmental and workplace stressors to daily events and unavoidable life changes. With sections for every season and pages for each day of the year, Past Tense is guaranteed to have something for everyone – even you. If you feel the need to stress, read this book first, and learn how to handle those worries immediately, or even set them aside forever!
What People Have Said Who Should Have Read
Past Tense
"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."
― Hamlet, from the play of the same name, Act IV, Scene V)
“I wish I were dead... Now what good would that do to anyone?”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
“I was a little excited but mostly blorft. ‘Blorft’ is an adjective I just made up that means ‘Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum.’ I have been blorft every day for the past seven years.”
― Tina Fey, Bossypants
“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”
― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
“Before I was a mom I used to think that parents who worried about their kids watching MTV were just clueless. Now that I'm a mom, I see what the fuss was all about!”
― Martha Quinn
“As the senior commander in Vietnam, I was aware of the potency of public opinion - and I worried about it.”
― General William Westmoreland
“When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go.”
― J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye
“They need to worry and betray time with urgencies false and otherwise, purely anxious and whiny, their souls really won't be at peace unless they can latch onto an established and proven worry and having once found it they assume facial expressions to fit and go with it, which is, you see, unhappiness, and all the time it all flies by them and they know it and that too worries them no end.”
― Jack Kerouac
"Drag your thoughts away from your troubles...by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it."
― Mark Twain
“Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway.” ― Mary C. Crowley
Interview with Past Tense Authors
Shawn Kilgarlin and Ron Kilgarlin
Q: Shawn, what prompted you to write this book?
A: I started this project two years ago, and then put it on the shelf because I was intimidate, thinking I wasn’t qualified to write such a book. I was raised by two strict Catholic parents, and entered the world with happy, child-like innocence. I didn’t know problems if they were staring me in the face. Then I hit some big personal problems a few years ago after having my third baby. My innate happiness and inner joy were sorely tested by the real world. After struggling through them with the support of family, friends, and my husband Ron and learning some big lessons, I realized God gives everyone a talent, and if we use that talent, He smiles. Last year, when I looked again at doing Past Tense, I realized it wasn’t just something I wanted to do, but something I had to do. Ron agreed, and off we went!
Q: Has stress proved a problem in your own lives?
A: As a couple, we started out from zero. We sold drug tests, worked out of our home, and grew our operation into a multi-million dollar business. We went broke once, suffered through some tragedies, but ultimately we helped many families, parents, offenders, probation officers, treatment professionals, and others build a better life. We have helped tens of thousands of customers in the substance abuse treatment market and heard many troubling stories of treatment pain, love against all odds, and recovery. From this experience came a true belief in miracles, love, and human potential. The Kilgarlins are certain that you can overcome any trial or tribulation that comes your way, and this book is our way of helping other people see the truth and workability of that statement.
Q: Speaking of sections of the book, how did you go about determining what the sections would be, and the topics within the sections, and how did you pick out all those fascinating quotes from so many people from over the centuries?
A: It was a completely collaborative effort. Shawn Kilgarlin developed an initial outline before setting the project aside. When she revisited the project, she and her editor worked out an outline that seemed best, and then Ron went over it. Our employees helped. Shelby spent countless hours of editing and typing and re-doing things and coming up with brilliant ideas and topics. Candice helped, even trying to write for Shawn at times, working back and forth with little details. Lastly (and much appreciated), our friends, co-workers, and business associates helped us decide on a name for the book, enduring the 50 emails that went along with that process. All this has convinced us that the subjects we discuss within the book will appeal to just about everyone!
Q: Shawn, your first book, God’s Love Letters, was about God’s presence in our lives. Does that sentiment fit into Past Tense?
A: Although we have quotes from many famous and successful people including philosophers and sages of other religions, we have quotes from the Bible throughout the book because our faith is important to us and has helped both us as a couple and the families we came from through all the difficult times in our lives. Section Ten, entitled “Faith Conquers Stress” is all about faith and spiritual knowledge, and we have topics in that section like “God’s Molding You.” And since we realized that not all readers would initially be interested in such a faith-filled section while others would love it, that’s an example of why we offer mini-books taken from the sections. Speaking to the sentiment of my first book (since you asked), it was about how understanding God’s love leads to “spiritual resiliency” – the strength to cope with life’s problems. In fact, the full title is God’s Love Letters: Overcoming Adversity. So long story short, this book is certainly much more of the same. In fact, Past Tense is three times as large!
Q: Was it difficult writing a book together, given that you’re both married and run a company together?
A: We’ve been married for 12 years and together for 17. As previously stated, we started out with nothing and worked out of our home to grow our operation into a multi-million dollar business. Through everything, we found the strength and ability to weather the storm, to make love work, and now, to write this book. It’s a constant adjustment. Ron is always telling me to slow down, which actually makes me go faster! I’ve written during our vacations, and during movie times, and still, Ron always supports me. Ron’s mom worked two jobs and still managed to leave a cooked dinner on the stove every night, while his father, Richard, showed him the way into manhood, always had patience, a non-judgmental attitude, and his great wisdom-filled advice Ron to grow and start our company, American Screening Corporation. Shawn’s family has always been supportive of her efforts. So we’ve had a lot of great personal backup in our lives that help us get through tense times together. Sure, there were uptight times in trying to get the book out, but we got through it because we want to share what we’ve learned with our readers. We hope to inspire them, enlighten them if we can, and touch some souls.
Q: Is that ambition what prompted you to write such a large book?
A: Well, it started out smaller, though still bigger than God’s Love Letters, but then we realized that there were so very many areas of life that pose a giant challenge these days, why not try to touch on them all? Stress is caused by a stressor, which is a chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, an external stimulus, or an event that causes stress to an organism. Well, that could be just about anything in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world, couldn’t it? And that’s why we just kept writing until it seemed right, ultimately offering a page of advice for every single day of the year.
Q: You’re also offering minibooks derived from the big one. Why?
A: People buy ebooks for smartphones, iPads and other tablets, and some organizations like to have pamphlet-sized small books to share with their staff and clients. If you’re having trouble with your love life, you’ll find Section Fifteen – Overcoming Heartache very helpful, but if you’re happily married yet dealing with recovery from giving birth, Section Eighteen – Overcoming Postpartum Depression might be a lot more helpful to you. Examples like that, and the fact that many people might want only certain sections of the book convinced us to offer each of the twenty-four sections as separate minibooks.
Q: What do you have planned next as a publishing company?
A: We have other books such as What Parents Need to Know About Drug Testing their Teens, a Drug Testing Dictionary, one on Workplace Drug Testing, and we’ve been doing workplace safety books for company on all sorts of subjects regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We also are moving into large training modules and planning out new books.
Q: Shawn, since this is your second book and you’ve seem to have a love for writing, where do you see yourself five years from now?
A: In a perfect world, I would like to retire and become a writer...donating my writing to Charity. I would Love to become a full time writer....producing full time books so my goal is one day : I can become a full-time author, speaker, and philanthropist. I’ll also be spending more time with my husband and three kids. Ron's goal is to become the world's most successful entrepreneur. With our company, we’ve helped over one million people deal with the plague of substance abuse, so we also want to do that. We both enjoy traveling all over the world, so we plan on doing more of that, too. There are a lot of people out there to learn about ways to have less stress!
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: People who purchase our book should know about our three main goals:
1. Inspire & motivate others to have a better life
2. Increase the well being of friends everywhere
3. Support the achievement of true success & peace
We want this book to be so helpful in reducing stress that every reader will refer a dozen others. That will allow us to continue to do more, and proceeds from sales of the book and minibooks will go toward donations to prisons, treatment centers, and charity organizations. And last but not least, we want to know if we have reached our goals with each and every reader. We always want to hear from you.